[1] The sad message about the Desert of the Sea: Something is coming from the desert. It is coming like wind blowing from the Negev. It is coming from a terrible country.
[2] I have seen something very terrible that will happen. I see traitors turning against you. I see people taking your wealth. Elam, go and fight against the people! Media, put your armies around the city and defeat it! I will end all the evil things in that city.
[3] I saw those terrible things, and now I am scared. My stomach hurts because of my fear. That pain is like the pain of giving birth. The things I hear make me very afraid. The things I see make me shake with fear.
[4] I am worried and I am shaking from fear. My pleasant evening has become a night of fear.
[5] ˻The people think everything is fine. The people are saying,˼ ”Prepare the table! Eat and Drink!” ˻At the same time the soldiers are saying,˼ ”Post the guard! Officers, get up and polish your shields!”
[6] My Master said to me, “Go find a man to guard this city. He must report whatever he sees.
[7] If the guard sees rows of horse soldiers, donkeys, or camels, the guard should listen carefully—very carefully.”
[8] ˻Then one day, the guard called out the warning,˼ “Lion!” ˻The guard said,˼ “My Master, every day I have been in the watchtower watching. Every night I have been standing and guarding, but ...
[9] Look! They are coming! I see rows of men and horse soldiers.” ˻Then a messenger˼ said, “Babylon ˻has been defeated.˼ Babylon has fallen to the ground. All the statues of her false gods have been thrown to the ground and have broken to pieces.”
[10] ˻Isaiah said,˼ “My people, I have told you everything that I heard from the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You will be crushed like grain on a threshing floor.
[11] The sad message about Dumah. Someone called me from Seir ˻(Edom)˼. He said, ”Guard, how much of the night is left? How much longer will it be night!”
[12] The guard answered, ”Morning is coming, But then night will come again. If you have something to ask, then come back and ask.”
[13] The sad message about Arabia. A caravan from Dedan spent the night near some trees in Arabian desert.
[14] They gave water to some thirsty travelers. The people of Tema gave food to some people that were traveling.
[15] Those people were running from swords that were ready to kill. They were running from bows that were ready to shoot. They were running from a hard battle.
[16] The Lord, my Master, told me those things would happen. The Lord said, “In one year, (the way a hired helper counts time) all Kedar’s glory will be gone.
[17] At that time, only a few of the archers, the great soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, told me those things.